Missing
by LilySnape2506
Summary: When Minerva, Poppy and Pomona learn about something that gets them in to trouble, will they be able to outwit their captors, or will they remain prisoners forever? Takes place before Minerva, Poppy and Pomona start Hogwarts.


**A/N All recognizable characters (including Cygnus and Druella) are owned by the amazing J.K. Rowling. This story takes place before Minerva, Poppy, and Pomona start Hogwarts.**

 ** _Monday_**

 _It was dark and rainy. A flash of lightning lit up the night sky and cast eerie shadows on the walls. Silence. The quiet was broken by sound of footsteps approaching the front porch. The doorbell rang. Who was there at this hour? She wasn't expecting anyone. The caller knocked insistently and-_ Zz-zz! Poppy's phone went off, turning her attention from her book to her phone. She looked at her screen and saw that she had a text from her best friend Minerva.

\- _Are you excited for the dance on Friday? - Minerva_

Yeah, right. - _You know me. Since when do I care about things like that? - Poppy_

 _-But it will be so fun! Dancing, a fancy dress, nice shoes… - Minerva_

 _-Sure. Some lump of fabric that will make it impossible to breathe, let alone dance, shoes that I will probably twist my ankle in… I'm a lot more excited to work on my extracurricular tomorrow. Remember, my project on the recent disappearances?- Poppy_

Ugh! Why was Minerva so excited? Dances were pointless.

Min _, I'm not going.-Poppy_

 _What?! Window. Window right now. -Minerva_

The window she was referring to was a large window in her room. It had a bench that the girls had decorated years ago. They sat there and talked when they had something important to discuss.

 _OK, see you in 5. -Poppy_

Ten minutes later, Poppy arrived at Minerva's house. She climbed the stairs outside Minerva's window and crawled through the open window, where her friend was waiting for her.

 **Wednesday**

"Come on! We're almost at the dress shop!" Minerva exclaimed, pulling her friend towards an old, small shop with daisy-patterned awnings and a decorative sign that read "Endora's Dresses". She opened the door and hurried her reluctant friend inside. As they entered, they were met by an overwhelming smell of lavender. Poppy began whispering complaints to Minerva, who quietly scolded her for being rude.

"Ugh! Why do we even have to go to this stupid dance? You know I hate this sort of thing," Poppy said with a frown.

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun! Boys, fancy dress, cute shoes, dancing, talking to your friends, all kinds of fun!" Minerva replied excitedly.

"See, that's where you're wrong. I'm not really in to things like dresses, high heels, boys, and dancing. I'm more of a "me" person, not a "we" person," Poppy explained, indicating her faded jeans, hand-me-down shirt, and scuffed sneakers. "Let's just get this over with."

Two hours later, the girls left the dress shop with a new dress and a pair of shoes for the dance.

 **Friday**

The girls sat at a makeup table in Minerva's room, doing their makeup for the dance. Minerva had used a natural eyeshadow and a light pink lipstick. She was now applying smokey eyeshadow and red lipstick to Poppy, who had protested the whole idea of makeup in the first place.

"I hope you have fun tonight," Minerva said in an attempt to cheer up her best friend.

They arrived at the dance at 6:30 and found their dates waiting outside for them.

"Wow, you look beautiful," Eric said to Minerva, who was wearing a pink and white sleeveless strapless dress that matched well with her makeup and clung tightly to her torso and puffed out at her hips and ended at her knees. Poppy followed Minerva to the doors. Poppy was dressed in a sleeveless dark red dress that clung gently to her torso before falling loosely to the ground.

They entered the gymnasium, where the dance was being held, and were greeted by fast paced music. The music soon changed and slow song poured from the speakers. Poppy tried to turn back and walk out the doors, but Minerva caught her shoulders and spun her around.

"Let me go, Min," Poppy said, sounding irritated. She pulled free, but Minerva stepped in front of her.

"We just got here!" she protested, grabbing her friend's arm as Poppy tried to slip past her.

"Minerva, let _go_!" Poppy exclaimed angrily, trying to pull free, but Minerva's grip was strong.

"I mean it! _LET ME GO!_ " she yelled, shoving Minerva roughly to the floor. She fled the room before her friend could protest. She ran down the hall and out the main doors. She kicked off her shoes and sprinted around the school to the woods behind the gym. She slumped down against a tree and started sobbing. _Why is Minerva always so happy and gets everything she could ever want, and I'm stuck living on the east side in a run-down neighborhood where the nicest things on the block are stray dogs, mean cats, and rabid squirrels? It's not fair!_ she thought.

Minerva lay on the floor, surprised at her friend and slightly stunned from hitting the ground so hard. She had a slight headache and her left ankle was sore. She shook her head to clear it, then got slowly to her feet and went off to find Poppy. _Knowing Poppy, she probably went somewhere dark and lonely._ Minerva made her way to the forest, where she found Poppy under a tree with her head on her knees.

"Poppy, are you alri-"

"Leave me alone!" Poppy cut her off and ran further into the forest. Minerva took off her shoes and followed.

Poppy weaved through the trees and gracefully jumped across a small stream. She ran on and on. She leaped over a fallen log and tried to duck under a low-hanging branch at the last second, tripping over a loose rock and catching herself on her hands. She made her way over to a nearby stream and rinsed her hands and face.

"Poppy! Poppy, where are you?" Minerva was calling her. She looked in the direction of her friend's voice and saw her standing 20 paces away. Poppy quickly splashed water on her face to hide the fact that she'd been crying. She made her way to her friend, carefully avoiding sticks, drying her face with a corner of her dress.

"Are you okay?" Minerva asked. Poppy nodded.

 _Ding!_ Minerva's phone went off.

"It's a missing person alert! A girl about our age disappeared. Her name is Miley Willows. She was from Greengrove Academy. That's pretty close by. She has long brown hair and bright amber eyes. Willows was last seen near Magnetite Park with her boyfriend and the groundskeeper of her school. I just looked her up, and she attended our school two years ago. 'Miley Willows attended Southfield Junior High School from 2010-2016.' it says. Apparently she had no enemies but had a history with some guy who eventually went off the deep end."

 _CRACK!_ A stick snapped some 30 paces away. They looked around for the source of the noise. Poppy found it first.

"Min," she whispered, "I see someone behind you to your left. Don't look, just slowly walk straight ahead and pretend you don't know she's there." Poppy turned and lead the way, and Minerva hurried to catch up.

"Who is it?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know, but act casual." Poppy took out a compact mirror and pretended to fix her makeup, while really checking to see if the person was still following them.

"Does my makeup look okay? I want to look my best for that date!" Poppy said loudly enough for the follower to hear. She quickened her pace, saying they shouldn't be late for their double date. There was another loud crack and the sound of leaves crunching underfoot. Their pursuer was catching up. Poppy put the compact away, speeding up more. Their follower did the same. The girls were almost jogging now, and the stranger was gaining on them.

"Run!" Poppy whispered urgently. The girls took off full speed, heading for the area of the river that separated them from the school. They had gotten a lot of rain recently, so the water was much deeper and faster than usual. The girls leaped up and grabbed some branches, swinging themselves into a tree over the water. Their pursuer stopped and looked around, unsure of where to go. Poppy, who had been looking up into the branches, looked down and gasped.

"There she goes!" Poppy whispered.

They saw the strange person drive away in a tiny black sedan with purple feathers on the hood and along the sides. They clambered down and began making their way slowly back to school.

When they returned, all their friends were waiting.

"We just took a little walk," Minerva said in response to all the questions their classmates were firing.

 **Summer Break, another Friday**

They girls were walking through the park, enjoying the nice weather. The two friends had been discussing who the mysterious person was and had come to the conclusion that this stranger was connected to the recent kidnappings. They had spent most of their day in the park, and now the sun was setting. They were about to head home when what should they see but a black sedan with purple feathers idling in the parking lot! Poppy grabbed her friend's shoulders and spun her around, then grabbed her hand and pulled her quickly in the other direction.

"It's the car from last night. We'll take the long way." They started the other way, but when the got to the street again, they saw that the car had followed them. Poppy suggested that they pretend not to know and go to their friend Pomona's house.

They finally made it to Pomona's house and knocked urgently. She came to the door almost instantly.

"Can we come in? We'll explain in a minute."

"Sure…" Pomona said. The girls entered hurriedly and shut and bolted the door.

"Ok, you girls wanna tell me what all the fuss and secrecy is about? Or are ya just gonna keep your best friend in the dark?" asked Pomona.

"It's kind of strange…" said Minerva.

"We've known each other for years, and you think I don't want to know what's going on? Come on, spill." Pomona smiled to show she wasn't really upset.

"Well, ok…" The girls gave a full account of what had been happening. Everything from the drama at the dance to the most recent events was included.

"So, you girls are being followed by some stranger who you believe to be a kidnapper and a killer?" Pomona said slowly as the girls finished their story.

"Yeah, basically. I know it sounds kinda weird, but it's true," Minerva explained.

" 'Kinda weird?' really? It sounds crazy! You girls need to chill out." Pomona smiled. The three friends hung out for a while before going their separate ways.

 **Saturday, 2 weeks later**

Poppy was over at Minerva's house and the two girls were swimming together.

"Race you across the pool!" Minerva said. Both girls ducked under the water and took off. They made it to the other end at the same time.

"I'm gonna go get a snack. Want anything?" Minerva asked. Poppy politely declined. Minerva climbed out of the water and went inside to get some food. Poppy sat on the edge of the pool with her feet in the water. She was staring off into space when her phone went off. She wrapped in a towel and dried her hands as she went to check it. There was a notification from the online news network she had subscribed to.

 _Teenage Girl Found Dead in Forest!_

 _Miley Willows, age 14, was found dead near Magnetite Park earlier this morning. There is no evidence that…._

Poppy put her phone down. Miley Willows… that was the girl who went missing a few months ago! She was the 5th one to go missing and turn up dead around there. Deciding to swim a few laps to clear her head before her friend returned, Poppy put her towel down, strode over to the edge of the pool, and jumped in. She was halfway back to where she had started when she felt something grab her ankle and found herself being pulled down to the bottom of the pool. When she looked down to see what it was, there was nothing there, but strangely she found herself stuck to the floor of the pool. She was losing air. She managed to free herself, finally. She looked up and saw Minerva swimming above her. Her friend must not have seen her struggling before. Poppy made her way closer to the surface. As she neared the surface, she realized that it wasn't Minerva in the pool, but someone else entirely. A girl about her age with long brown hair and bright amber eyes. And she wasn't swimming, she was floating! Myra opened her mouth in horror, nearly choking on the chlorinated water. Miley Willows! Poppy quickly swam away to the shallower end of the pool. By the time she reached the other end of the pool, she was almost out of air. She quickly climbed out of the water, just as Minerva came back. She told her friend what had just happened, but when Minerva came to look, nothing was there.

 **Next Thursday**

Poppy pulled her blanket closer to her chin. She and Minerva were stretched out on the large, comfortable bed in Minerva's room and were watching one of their favorite movies. Minerva was watching attentively, although Poppy was nodding off. An hour later, both of them had fallen asleep and begun snoring quietly when a sudden noise from outside woke Poppy. The sound of footsteps approaching the front porch. The doorbell rang. After a short pause, the caller knocked insistently. She climbed quickly from the cozy warmth of the bed, which she noticed was a big difference from the afternoon chill of the rest of the room.

She got a bit dizzy when she stood, but she quickly dismissed it as a consequence of standing up so fast. She was almost at the door when her vision dimmed and blurred slightly. The edges of her eyes went darker, and her sight narrowed to allow her to see only a small portion of the room, which seemed to move. She swayed on her feet and tried grabbing the doorframe to steady herself. Her fingers slipped and the next thing she knew she was falling, her brain too fuzzy to allow her to catch herself. She was unconscious before she hit the floor.

Some time later

Poppy could feel that her face hurt, though she wasn't sure why. Memories of earlier came back, and she realized she wasn't on Minerva's floor, but something softer. And smaller. She opened her eyes and sat up. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the dark, and when they did, she was surprised at what she saw. She was in a car. And it was moving!

Next to her, Minerva was slowly waking up.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"A car. I don't know where we're going, but see if you can see the paint on the car," Poppy answered. Looking out the window as they passed a streetlamp, Minerva saw what her friend was talking about. The vehicle they were in was a sedan with purple feathers painted on! After a few moments of the girls freaking out, the car pulled into a parking lot outside an abandoned house.

"Pretend your still asleep!" Poppy whispered as the driver climbed out and went to unlock the door to the building. The girls quickly closed their eyes and slumped against the window again, just as the man came back. He grabbed Minerva and brought her inside. A few minutes later he returned for Poppy. He carried her through a long hallway and up a tall flight of tightly winding stairs, taking no particular care not to hit her head on every corner and doorway they passed. They reached a large room at the end of a hallway, where the man dropped her roughly on the ground. She heard footsteps walking away and then the lock twisting in the door. She sat up and looked around, rubbing her head. If she didn't have a headache before, she certainly did now! She saw lots of boxes, each labeled carefully. Some were tightly sealed, others, like the one labeled "Kitchen", were opened. Old furniture was placed randomly around the room. An old couch was tipped over, a 3-legged chair rested on its side, torn pillows and their contents were strewn about, and a table stood under a small window that was high on the wall. Cobwebs covered everything except the boxes, and the table was the only standing piece of furniture. Poppy turned toward Minerva, and saw her sitting by the wall, scratching her shoulder.

"What happened? How did we get here?" Poppy asked.

"Well..." Minerva began telling the story.

A few hours ago, Minerva's house

The doorbell rang, startling Minerva awake. She climbed out of bed and noticed Poppy unconscious on the floor. Minerva tried to wake her, but before she could, the doorbell rang again and someone knocked insistently. She went to look through the peephole and saw someone unfamiliar. She opened the door slightly and asked what he needed.

"I was walking by and heard a crash. I just wanted to make sure you were alright," he said. She realized that the man looked familiar. She studied his face, trying to decide where she had seen him before.

"Have we met? Wait! You're Minerva! Carson's daughter! I'm working with him on a case. Is he in?" the man asked. She said he was out for the next couple days and asked if she could take a message. The man had just started a sentence when she saw Poppy on the ground.

"Is she okay?" he inquired.

"I'm not sure."

The man asked if he could come help, and Minerva accepted, deciding that he must work with her dad. After all, he had hosted a dinner for his co-workers recently, so it would make sense for her to have seen him then. She turned to lead the way and suddenly felt her legs swept out from under her. Her head hit the ground and she fell unconscious.

Present time

"...and you know the rest," Minerva finished.

"You said it was a man at the door. What did he look like?"

"About 6'3", Italian, bleached white hair, probably about 33," Minerva replied. "Why?"

"I just wondered if I had seen him before. Come on, let's try to find a way out."

"Hello girls. I see you've woken up pretty quickly." Standing in the doorway was a young, pale-skinned woman with black hair and lips. She was dressed in a silky black blouse and floor-length black skirt. As she entered the room, the girls noticed that her skirt was in fact made of feathers. The woman introduced herself as Druella Black.

"Do you like it? It is made entirely of raven feathers," she said, gesturing to her skirt.

"Miss, where are we?" Minerva asked.

"Well, that would ruin the fun now, wouldn't it?" Druella spoke softly, her voice dripping with sweetness. "How about I tell you why, instead of where? You are here for the same reason as everyone else."

"That isn't a clear answer. Why are we here?" Poppy demanded.

"Patience, dear Poppy. And we mustn't forget our manners now, right?" Druella held up a small dagger. "It would be a shame if this thing found its way into your heart so soon. I'll be right back." She slammed the door and locked it behind her.

Druella returned a few minutes later carrying a tray of food and 3 glasses of water. She opened one of the boxes and removed a rolled up blanket. She unrolled it and set the tray down.

"Please, have a seat," she said. The girls sat down on the blanket.

"Help yourselves," she said, indicating the tray she had brought in.

"I know you probably have a lot of questions, so I'll make you a deal. You can ask me any question you wish and I have to answer honestly for the next 30 minutes," Druella said. Her voice had lost some of its sweetness, but she did not sound angry.

"What's the catch, Miss Black?" Poppy asked, remembering the woman's earlier comment about manners. She had the feeling this woman wasn't telling them everything.

"Well, you can't ask where we are or really anything that would betray our location."

"Is that it?" Minerva asked. Druella nodded.

"Who was the man at our door?" Minerva asked.

"That was my...associate," Druella answered.

"Why are we here?" Poppy inquired.

"Same reason as the others. I already said that," Ms. Black said. "I shall return shortly. I believe we have a visitor." She hurried from the room, black heels clicking on the wooden floor. She came back a few minutes later pulling a girl by the wrist. Druella pulled her roughly into the room and let go, allowing her to go sliding across the room. Druella calmly sat back down on the blanket.

"Now, would you like to resume our little game?" she asked sweetly.

"Why were the others brought here?" Poppy asked. Druella smiled.

"Clever. For the same reason you were," she said with a smirk.

"Why were we and the others brought here, Miss Black?" the new girl asked.

"Ooh, I like this one. Smart. You were brought here because of what you know. You were all somehow tied with a person studying the unsolved cases. Minerva, your uncle is a detective and was working on the case at work. Poppy, your extracurricular somehow led you to investigate. Pomona, you were simply looking into the unsolved cases. You are highly logical and were too much of a threat for us to allow you to continue your work," Black explained.

Myra turned to face the new girl. Druella had called her…

"Pomona!" Poppy and Minerva said together.

"What is going on here?" Pomona asked.

"I think this woman is involved in the recent disappearances," Poppy said.

"Are you?" Minerva asked, turning back towards Vanessa.

"Am I what?"

"Are you involved in the recent disappearances?"

"Yes."

"And your associate?"

"What about him?"

"Is he involved in the disappearances?"

"Yes."

"And my uncle? What case was he working on?"

"The one that would get us in trouble. Ten more minutes," Druella said.

"That isn't a straight answer. You really have a talent for not giving straight answers," Poppy commented.

"But it is honest. Our deal was only that I had to answer honestly," Druella replied with a smile.

"You-" Poppy began angrily.

"Okay, why does the fact that my uncle investigated this case affect me?" Minerva asked, cutting her friend off before Poppy said something she would regret.

"Simple. He had brought home some paperwork regarding the case and we couldn't risk you finding it. As we have already established, you three are incredibly intelligent, as were the others."

"You keep saying 'we.' Who are you referring to?" Pomona asked.

"Myself and Cygnus. Five minutes," Druella said.

"Wait, everyone who went missing was last seen with a man fitting Cygnus's description or a pale-skinned woman in black. Were these people you two?" Pomona asked.

Black opened her mouth to speak but at that moment the door flew open and a man entered.

"Druella! What is going on here? I sent you up here to bring in the little know-it-all. I come to see what in the world could be keeping you and you are having a tea party with the little brats! What is wrong with you?!" he yelled.

"Cygnus, dear, I'll be right there. We were… playing a game. I'll meet you down there," Druella said, her voice once again dripping with false sweetness.

"You have three minutes," he grumbled. He left quickly, cursing under his breath.

"Well, I have to go, I enjoyed our little game, but time is up. I will return shortly." She left hurriedly, heels clicking on the hard floor. They heard the lock twist in the door as she left.

"That man was at the dance. He claimed to be married to Mrs. Halifire. He asked if my parents were in because he had important news from work. And the woman said she was Piper's older sister and wanted to talk to me about the research I was doing on the recent crimes. I told her I didn't know too much yet, but you might know more, Poppy," Pomona said. Poppy was about to respond when she heard shouting from downstairs, though they could only hear bits and pieces of what was being said.

"What the… wrong...too much…" A male's voice, probably Cygnus's, said.

"...handling... finish...no faith...self centered!" said Druella. The girls heard a loud crash, followed by a feminine scream. Someone started crying and the man started swearing loudly.

"Enough… upstairs… them!" They heard heels clicking up the stairs and Druella entered the room. Her hair was messy and her makeup was running down her face. The whites of her eyes were red and there was a slight cut on her left arm.

"Cygnus wishes to see you. He is on his way up," she said, her voice high and trembling slightly. A moment later the door opened and Cygnus came in with a red handprint across his cheek . He questioned them for a few minutes then turned to Ms Black.

"Druella, I need to talk to you." The pair left the room quickly. Druella came back and the man went downstairs. She seemed a little calmer.

"Who have you told about your research, Pomona?" she inquired.

"No one, but what do you want us for?"

"Question time is over. I have to go." She hurried from the room.

"Come on, let's get out of here before they come back," Poppy said.

"How?" asked Minerva.

"We can use the table. If you climb up first, you can pull Pomona up next, then me," said Poppy. Minerva agreed and climbed onto the table. She was almost out the window and Pomona was climbing onto the table when the door opened and Druella came in.

"No one is going anywhere!" she shrieked, lunging at Poppy, the one closest to the door. She caught the girl by the leg and pulled her off the table. Pomona climbed off the table and pushed Miss Black away from Poppy. She helped her friend up and quickly helped her out the window. They climbed into a tree outside the window and made their way to the ground as fast as they could. They could hear the woman yelling from inside. The girls ran around to the front of the house and saw the street sign.

"I know where this is! There is a lake about half a mile away. My parents used to take me camping there. Come on, home is this way!" Pomona exclaimed. Just then, the man came running out of the house.

"Get back here!" he yelled. "Black! They escaped! Get out here and help me get them!"

The girls ran off after Pomona, Druella and Cygnus close behind. Druella had gotten the car, which unfortunately no headlights. It was still dark out, which made it much harder to see anything as they ran farther away from the light of the porch. After a long time of running, the girls stopped behind a bush to rest.

"Try not to move or make any noise. I'm not sure where they are, but-" Poppy didn't get to finish her sentence because at that moment Cygnus and Druella appeared in front of them. Druella yanked Poppy out of the bushes and pushed her towards Cygnus, who had already grabbed Minerva. Druella had Pomona.

"Come on, we're going back to the Manor now. You won't escape this time," Cygnus said quietly. The couple brought the girls to the car. He climbed into the driver seat and ordered Druella to sit in the back with the girls. The car started moving and Cygnus turned on the radio.

"See that red light ahead of us?" Druella whispered to the girls. "When we stop, jump out and run. There is a narrow alley to the left of the light. Run to the alley and follow it until you see the third opening to a main street. That will take you to Pomona's."

"Why should we listen to you?" Poppy asked.

"Just trust me. Now!" Druella said as they rolled to a stop at the light. She leaned across the car, opened the door and pushed the girls out onto the sidewalk. She leaped out after them and helped them to their feet while Cygnus got out of the car. She led them to the alley and hurried them in. She followed quickly, urging them to go before Cygnus caught up. They managed to make it to Pomona's house without getting caught. Pomona opened the door and everyone rushed inside. Moments later, Cygnus knocked on the door. Druella told Pomona to open it. She opened the door and stood behind it. The man came in yelling.

"Druella! What is wrong with you? I thought we were on the same side! Then you go and help these little pests!" Cygnus swung at her, but she ducked and swept his legs out from under him. He was just getting to his feet when he heard sirens in the distance. He was gone a moment later.

"Thank you for helping us, Miss Black," Minerva said.

"No problem. He probably won't be back any time soon. And please, call me Druella," the woman said with a smile.

"Thank you, Druella," Poppy said. Then all four of them sat down on the couch and a few minutes later were watching a movie together like any normal friends would. They soon fell asleep, all together in the living room.


End file.
